US President Donald Trump has flagged he will visit the UK “soon” after holding a phone call with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
In their first call since Trump’s inauguration, both leaders spoke for 45 minutes on Sunday, the UK government said.
Their discussions included the Middle East conflict, trade and security.
Trump began by sending his condolences to Starmer after the death of his brother Nick, who had cancer and died at the end of last year.
“The prime minister thanked President Trump for his kind words and congratulated him on his inauguration.
“The prime minister paid tribute to president Trump’s role in securing the landmark ceasefire and hostages deal in Gaza.”
For Starmer, from the centre-left of British politics, forging an effective relationship between the UK and the new Trump administration has been tricky.
Political differences aside, Trump confidante and the world’s richest man Elon Musk has been strongly critical of Starmer.
Early this month, Musk dredged up a painful, years-long scandal over grooming gangs and pushed for the release of Tommy Robinson, an imprisoned far-right agitator with a swelling social media following.
Starmer, who was director of public prosecutions from 2008 to 2013, hit back by accusing his critics of “spreading lies and misinformation” and insisted he tackled prosecutions “head on”.
There are also other diplomatic hurdles in the Washington-London relationship, such as tariffs and military support for Ukraine.
But Trump, speaking with the BBC after his phone call with Starmer, said he and the British PM “get along well” despite their opposing political views.
“He’s liberal, which is a bit different from me, but I think he’s a very good person and I think he’s done a very good job thus far,” Trump said.
“He’s represented his country in terms of philosophy … I may not agree with his philosophy, but I have a very good relationship with him.”
Trump also answered a question about the location of his first international visit, which he said “could be Saudi Arabia, it could be UK. Traditionally, it could be UK.”
In 2019, Trump and his wife, Melania, made a state visit to the UK and were hosted by the late Queen Elizabeth II.
